Preview | Newport County (h)

The last time we came face-to-face with Newport, the Bees made sure it was very much a night to remember.

The hosts took the lead through Ben White with just over 15 minutes to go after finding the net from close range.

However, a John Akinde header from a Jamal Campbell-Ryce cross on 88 minutes levelled proceedings at Rodney Parade.

The Bees didn’t settle for a point though as they scored a very similar goal in stoppage time as Campbell-Ryce pinged in another ball into the box but this time it was Shaquile Coulthirst who headed home.

The Bees need a win on Saturday and they will no doubt be aiming to replicate the heroics of our last meeting with the Exiles.

Manager:

Four different playing spells at his home team Newport saw Michael Flynn make over 100 league appearances for the Exiles, finding the net 10 times.

He was also part of the County side that won promotion back to the Football League in 2013 and also played for the likes of Wigan Athletic, Gillingham, Blackpool, Bradford and Huddersfield.

Alongside his third spell in South Wales in 2014, the 37-year-old took over as the director of Newport’s youth academy.

Flynn was also first team coach of Newport of which was followed by a Football and Business Development Director role at the club before rejoining the coaching staff under Graham Westley.

In March 2017, Flynn was appointed caretaker manager of the Exiles for the remaining three months of the 2016-17 season and guided them to safety.

Following that campaign, the former midfielder was made permanent manager on a two-year contract.

During his debut season in EFL management, he guided Newport to FA Cup heroics against Leeds United before sending Tottenham Hotspur to a replay where they faced each other again at Wembley.

As for their league performances, Newport sit mid-table which is above and beyond the situation they faced last season.

Dangerman:

One man who the Bees will have to watch out for this weekend is the player who sits highest in Newport’s top scorers this season and that is Padraig Amond.

Currently in his first season at Rodney Parade, the 29-year-old has found the net 12 times this campaign whilst creating three assists. All of Amond’s goals have come within the box so the Barnet defenders will have to be on top of their game on Saturday to prevent him from posing a threat.

Being the Exiles’ top scorer this campaign, it comes as no surprise that Amond has had the most shots too. The Irishman has accumulated 48 efforts on target out of 76 attempts this campaign in all competitions.

Newport’s number nine also has 4 Republic of Ireland U21 appearances to his name and has created an impressive goal track record during his 11-year professional career.

Amond also rustled the net in Newport’s last fixture so he will undoubtedly be high on confidence going into this weekend’s encounter.

Connections:

Charlie Clough is another one who isn’t a stranger to Newport, spending a month on loan there from Bristol Rovers in 2010, making three appearances during his time in South Wales.

David Tutonda will also be hoping to come up against his former club on Saturday after making 12 appearances for County during a loan spell from Cardiff City in 2015. The 22-year-old found the net twice whilst picking up one assist in the three months he spent there.

Goalkeeper Jamie Stephens arrived at the Hive London in 2015 off the back of a two-year spell at Newport. The 24-year-old made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Exiles before he was released in May 2015 at the end of his contract.

Last Time Out:

Newport make the trip to North London off the back of a 2-1 victory last weekend.

The Exiles managed to see off play-off chasers Swindon Town to move themselves up to 12th in the standings.

Amond opened the scoring with a quarter of an hour on the clock after the forward latched onto David Pipe’s cross before looping the ball over Stuart Moore’s head.

County doubled their advantage 20 minutes later courtesy of Ben Tozer who headed home after the ball was played in by Ben White.

Despite Swindon pulling a goal back just past the hour mark through Paul Mullin, Newport held on to claim their first win since January.

Seeing out the victory was made a little easier when Swindon went down to 10-men as Rollin Menayese received his marching orders for picking up his second yellow card four minutes after their goal.

Ticket Details:

Our £10 South Terrace ticket offer continues for this game, as does Kid a Quid anywhere in the stadium!